Mary Lou Jepsen didn't set out to invent the netbook and turn the computer industry upside down. She was just trying to create a supercheap laptop. In 2005, Jepsen, a pioneering LCD screen designer, was tapped to lead the development of the machine that would become known as One Laptop per Child. Nicholas Negroponte, the longtime MIT Media Lab visionary, launched the project hoping to create an inexpensive computer for children in developing countries. It would have Wi-Fi, a color screen, and a full keyboard—and sell for about $100. At that price, third-world governments could buy millions and hand them out freely in rural villages. Plus, it had to be small, incredibly rugged, and able to run on minimal power. "Half of the world's children have no regular access to electricity," Jepsen points out.

MakeUseOf has teamed up with our very own Karl Gechlik at Ask The Admin to bring you nearly 50 pages full of screenshots, links to video demos and easy how-to instructions for every step involved. The result? The Idiot’s Guide To Building A PC.

Hey, times are tough. Games are expensive. What are you going to do, stop playing them? Hah! You can give your credit card a break and still stay up until 2am yelling at your computer monitor if you just know where to find all the best free PC games. Of course, the Web is a front of free entertainment. There are more lame flash games out there than you could possibly catalogue, and even a few really great ones. A Google search for "free games" will take you to any number of portals where you can play ad-supported flash games, or even awesome paid flash games like Robokill.

Some decent picks. I ended up playing Dyson for like 6hours after i read this. Worth browsing.

It all started while we were researching an article on future user interfaces. Touch interfaces are hardly futuristic at this point, but multi-touch hardware like the Microsoft Surface or the iPhone is just starting to become a big deal, and we decided to see what big things are going on in that field. What we found that surprised us the most wasn’t anything about the future of multitouch; it was about something that people are doing right now.

When you think about it, a database dump is just SQL code, so why not manage it the same way you manage the rest of your code — in a source code manager? Setting such a scheme up is dead simple. On your production server, with git installed:

If you're an iTunes user (download for Windows|Mac) whose appetite for music, movies, and podcasts is outstripping the capacity of your computer, it might be a good time to think about offloading that library to an external hard drive or a separate internal drive. If you do it right, the process is relatively simple, although the transfer time could take an hour or more, depending on the size of your media library.
To walk you through it, here's a step-by-step video and slide show tutorial on how to move your iTunes library to an external hard drive.

We've shown you how to upgrade to the Windows 7 release candidate and walked you through what's new when you get there; now let's take a look at how to enable Windows 7 XP Mode.
Windows 7's new XP Mode lets you seamlessly run virtualized applications alongside your regular Windows 7 applications—so your outdated software will continue to work. Before we begin, you'll want to make sure your system meets the requirements:
* Processor: Processor capable of hardware virtualization, with AMD-V™ or Intel® VT turned on in the BIOS.
* Memory: 2GB of memory recommended.
* Hard disk requirement: 20MB hard disk space for installing Windows Virtual PC. Additional 15GB of hard disk space per virtual Windows environment recommended.
Make sure that your processor supports hardware virtualization, and double-check that the hardware virtualization setting is enabled in your BIOS (the setting is often not enabled although your processor may be supported). You can use the official Intel Pr

nstallation and Usage: Download the setup file and Install. Go to www.Twitter.com and create a new Twitter account for your PC (This is optional as TweetMyPC only responds for updates). This account will be used by TweetMyPC to monitor for new tweets. Start TweetMyPC and then fill in the login details. Wait for some time for the application to verify your login details.

The PSU Wattage we recommend only gives you a general idea on what to consider while selecting a power supply. PCI cards, External devices, USB and Firewire devices, Cooling fans and other components may need more power.

I'm Will Smith, the editor of Maximum PC and the guy in the video below. We shot this video demonstration to show people how to build a killer PC, one step at a time. It's a great reference for beginners and experts alike. This video was created for viewing by attendees of Comic-Con 2009.

Whether you're a first-time computer builder or a seasoned pro, deviantART user Sonic480's computer hardware poster, which helps you identify countless different types of hard drives, RAM, ports, CPU sockets, power connectors, and more, is a great reference.

Whether you're a first-time computer builder or a seasoned pro, deviantART user Sonic480's computer hardware poster, which helps you identify countless different types of hard drives, RAM, ports, CPU sockets, power connectors, and more, is a great reference.
Chances are you don't know the ins and outs of every single connector or piece of computer hardware you'll come across (even if you do have experience), and while we're sure the poster could cover even more territory (if we're being picky), it's a pretty great visual reference.

Pundits may argue that the modern day HTPC has no place in the modern day living room, but we disagree. In fact, with the economy still struggling to regain its swagger, folks are staying in and finding entertainment at home more than ever. It's that truth that spurred us to start this here project: building a fully capable, Blu-ray and TV tuner-equipped HTPC for less than a grand. And lo and behold, we made it happen. If you're interested in seeing exactly how we pieced together a mighty fine entertainment box for less than the starting price of most pre-configured systems, hop on past the break with your notepad open.
If you'll recall, we did a similar piece on HTPC building way back in early 2006. A format war and a digital TV transition later, we figured it was finally time to issue a revised edition. With disposable income becoming an increasingly rare commodity, we put a soft $1,000 cap on our model rig, and we did our darnedest to construct a solid, potent media PC that could

This page offers links to flowcharts for PC diagnostics, excerpted from my book. The non-active links are for charts that are included in the book but not available online. The published book contains seventeen flowcharts for computer diagnostics plus a short text for every chart expanding on the decision points. The troubleshooting process is the same for an expensive Sony or IBM, or a downmarket eMachines or Gateway. Dell and HP (who purchased Compaq) manufacture PC's in a wide range of price points, but you have to go through the same troubleshooting steps for the cheap ones as the expensive ones if you want to correctly identify and repair the failure.

Your PC’s hard drive is probably packed to the platter’s edge with hundreds of ripped DVD videos, gigabytes of digital photos from your camera, and tens of thousands of songs. And that’s not even counting the high-definition digital video from your last family vacation that you’re still planning to unload. But with terabytes of media just gathering dust on your desktop PC, you risk losing years of aggregated files when your hard drive inevitably gives out (don’t even think about backing it all up to the cloud). Our solution: Keep all your data backed up on a Windows Home Sever. More than just a generic NAS box, Windows Home Server maintains backups, streams media files, and works as a file share across your home network. And the best part is that you can build one yourself—we’ll show you how!

Networking is stupid. You'd think it'd be real darn easy to share stuff between PCs and Macs, but it's not as nearly simple as it should be. So, here's how to make 'em talk and share stuff like best friends.

A new computer is like a blank state--there's a lot of potential there, but without some work on your part, it's useless. It's not hard to get started, but there are some essential first steps that everyone should follow when breaking in their new PC. In this guide, we've compiled a step-by-step list of essential tips, tricks and advice from many of our other features, to provide you with just the information you need to get off to a great start with any new PC. So if you got a new rig under the PC under the tree this year, or even if you're just thinking about getting one in the future, read on to find out more

Don't let misinformation prevent you from cashing in on PC power management

Turning off PCs during periods of inactivity can save companies a substantial sum. In fact, Energy Star estimates organizations can save from $25 to $75 per PC per year with PC power management. Those savings can add up quickly. According to a recent report by Forrester titled "How Much Money Are Your Idle PCs Wasting?" PC power management is helping General Electric and Dell boast savings of $2.5 million and $1.8 million per year, respectively. That also results in a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions.
So why is there hesitancy at some organizations to implement PC power management, given that the payback is easy to calculate? Perhaps some companies are being swayed by myths about PC power management. Forrester outlines five such myths in its report.

The kids are headed back to school, which means that it's time for an upgrade. After all, nobody wants to be at a framerate disadvantage vs. the rest of the dorm. So whether you're building a system for work or for play, you'll find the right recommendation inside.

In the personal computer’s long and varied history, some computers have been decidedly less perfect than others. Many early PCs shipped with major design flaws that either sunk platforms outright or considerably slowed down their adoption by the public. Decades later, we can still learn from these multi-million dollar mistakes.

* The more heat, the faster the fan will have to run to dissipate it. The faster the fan, the noisier it will be. So, high efficiency = less noise basically.
* Electricity bill. You have to pay for that wasted power , even if you’re not really using it ;)
You’re basically aiming for the highest % that you can get. 80% is decent, while 85% and higher is better.

When you have to pick a new power supply, you have six main factors to consider:
* Maximum power output, in Watts (W)
* Maximum current output, mainly on the 12V line(s), in Amps (A)
* Power efficiency, in %
* Brand/Series
* Number and type of connections
* Price

If you're only using your $500 PlayStation 3 for console gaming, you're missing out on half of its hidden versatility: the ability to upgrade into a fully functional PC! Inside that shiny plastic shell resides some decent computing silicon, just waiting to be released from its undeserved console shackles. And while Windows Vista and OSX are no-goes due to legal issues, there's no reason at all not to dual boot into a perfectly serviceable Linux platform when the need arises.

If you're only using your $500 PlayStation 3 for console gaming, you're missing out on half of its hidden versatility: the ability to upgrade into a fully functional PC! Inside that shiny plastic shell resides some decent computing silicon, just waiting to be released from its undeserved console shackles. And while Windows Vista and OSX are no-goes due to legal issues, there's no reason at all not to dual boot into a perfectly serviceable Linux platform when the need arises.
The installation process is fairly straightforward, and the hard drive is easily upgradeable if you don't mind spending a little extra cash on the side. And while Ubuntu for PlayStation has a few functional limitations, you can find myriad excellent applications for you to enjoy from the comfort of your own living room, including VLC for encoded video playback, Amarok to blast your

It's increasingly the case that a PC is the hub of all our home entertainment, spelling the end of hi-fis, DVD players and the like. You don't want your merry watching and listening to be undermined by a noise like a bumblebee orgy inside a tin bath. Fortunately, an enormous third-party market has sprung up

Does your Windows machine take a long time to boot up? (Insert snarky “switch to Linux” joke here). Well a company has developed a remedy to improve Windows boot time, and it is called Soluto.
The way the application works is simple. It installs, then it asks you to reboot and then it watches your boot time and tells you what is taking up the majority of that time. It allows you to pause the item (does not start up again until un-paused) or you can delay its startup. It will wait until the initial set of applications is loaded before attempting to start your delayed applications.
This program works well for techies and entry level computer users alike. If you are an expert user you can take action on all your items and have a great list to work from on speeding up your boot up. A novice would be able to pause the items that they know they do not use or have already uninstalled. -makeuseof

"Getting a NAS set up as a simple file share is mostly a plug-and-play process. (More on that here.) And in raw form, it's a dead-simple concept: Here's a bunch of storage space that you can share among your home computers, over the network. But with a little work, you can do so much more than that, converting your NAS from a begrudging purchase in the name of caution to a vital piece of your very computing existence.
Here are some of the best tips:"

tions and wasteful processes are sapping many of your PC's valuable resources. And what's to blame? Windows.
Windows is deceptive. After you've installed it, the OS happily connects to the internet, downloads all the necessary drivers, configures itself and there you go – one stable PC all ready to roll. It couldn't be easier or more convenient.

tions and wasteful processes are sapping many of your PC's valuable resources. And what's to blame? Windows.
Windows is deceptive. After you've installed it, the OS happily connects to the internet, downloads all the necessary drivers, configures itself and there you go – one stable PC all ready to roll. It couldn't be easier or more convenient.

There's a tool for just about anything you can think of in Windows. And if you look hard enough, you'll find a freebie is more than capable of doing the job you want – in some cases, free tools outclass their shareware or commercial rivals.
The trick is knowing what's out there and where to find it, which is where we come in. We've done the hard work for you, trawling the web for hundreds of free Windows tools and selecting the finest 100 to include in this feature.
Read more: http://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/100-best-ever-free-pc-system-tools-705029#ixzz0upXfOQXA